2009:506 - NEWRATH, Kilkenny

Monitoring of drainage works in Newrath townland, Co. Kilkenny, was carried out as part of the construction of the N25 Waterford bypass. This area was not investigated during preconstruction test-trenching as it was inaccessible due to the marshy nature of the terrain. The road-construction works involved the embankment of a low-lying wetland area by the introduction of a stone fill on top of the existing ground surface to create a raised road embankment. The excavation works for two drainage trenches, averaging 1m wide by 0.8m deep, flanking the road embankment and an attenuation pond, measuring 20m by 7m by 1.5m deep, were monitored. The exposed stratigraphy consisted of a number of thin lenses of marl and peat deposits, which indicated recent periodic flooding events, and no archaeological features or finds were noted.